District dual meet playoffs in the Keystone State
This week features each district in Pennsylvania determining its dual meet champion and place-winning teams. For Class AAA, the big-school division, eleven teams will automatically qualify to the state tournament (ten district champions, District V does not have big-school wrestling, while District VIII does not directly qualify). Ten teams will be in preliminary matches on Monday night for the right to make the trip to Hershey: second through fourth place finishers in District I (Philadelphia area), second through fourth placers in District III (South Central), third place in District VII (Pittsburgh area), champion of District VIII (Pittsburgh City), runner-up in District XI (Lehigh Valley), runner-up in District XII (Philadelphia City/Catholic).
District I features two nationally ranked teams, No. 20 Boyertown and No. 46 Council Rock South. It is most likely to be those two teams in the final, though Council Rock South will have to clear Pennridge in the semifinal, with either West Chester Rustin or Upper Darby as the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs.
District III is likely a two horse race between Central Dauphin and Cumberland Valley with Cedar Cliff and Exeter Township seeded to also advance to the state preliminary round on Monday night.
District VII features a pair of nationally ranked teams, No. 10 Belle Vernon Area and No. 32 Kiski Area. They have advanced to face North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan respectively in the semifinal round. It is likely to be a North Allegheny vs. Canon-McMillan battle for the third spot, which is de facto qualification to Hershey.
District XI is likely to be a rematch between No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic and No. 21 Nazareth in the final, Bethlehem Catholic won eleven bouts this past Saturday in a 40-9 victory; not sure why this Saturday will be any different. Nazareth is looking at a match against the fourth place team from District III on Monday night.
Breaking down the likely state draw by quarter:
Q1 -- District III champ against District VII third in the opening round with the winner looking at No. 21 Nazareth in the quarterfinal
Q2 -- District VII runner-up against District I champion in a likely quarterfinal, that could be a battle of nationally ranked teams
Q3 -- No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic is looking at a likely quarterfinal against the District III runner-up
Q4 -- The most likely quarterfinal places the District VII champion against the District I champion, which could be a battle of nationally ranked teams
There are no nationally ranked teams in Class AA (small-school) this year. The two best teams it seems are likely going to meet in the semifinal, as the District X champ and the District IX champ are in the same half-bracket (i.e. Reynolds and Brookville).
Catching up on three showcase duals from last week
On January 28, one week ago, No. 5 Buchanan traveled to neighbor and arch-rival No. 9 Clovis. The Bears ended the 91 match in-state dual meet victory streak of Clovis with a 32-27 win. Buchanan won eight weight classes, and held the lead for the duration of the dual meet starting with the third match. Justin Mejia, ranked No. 3 at 120, returned to the mat in style with an opening match pin for Clovis; he had injury defaulted out of the Doc Buchanan in early January. However, it would not surprise me if Clovis won their sixth straight state title, as they are favored to win four weight classes at the individual bracket tournament in early March.
Saturday night, January 30, saw No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic blow out No. 21 Nazareth 40-9, as the Hawks won eleven of the fourteen weight classes to win the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship. As covered above, the two teams are likely to meet on Saturday for a District XI title.
Then on Sunday, No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) needed every one of their eight wins, as they outlasted No. 4 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) 25-22. It came down to the last bout of the dual meet when Justin Hoyle beat Richie Halal 6-1 in a winner take all bout, it was tied 22-2 headed into 106. The two key bouts in my opinion happened to open the dual meet as Wyoming Seminary won a pair of tossups at 113 and 120, Benny Baker beat Carmen Ferrante 5-3 in overtime, and Jack Davis beat previously nationally ranked Gerard Angelo 6-5.
Big match not happening
Last week this time there was talk about a potential dual meet between No. 2 Wyoming Seminary and No. 3 St. Paris Graham (Ohio) happening next weekend. There was a preliminary agreement, at least that's the terminology I was given, between the two teams to meet on February 13 at St. Paris Graham; however, things fell through earlier this week.
State titles on the line this weekend
Dual meet state championships take place in North Carolina and Tennessee.
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